-=₪ February 1926 ₪=-
Home / 150 Camden Street / 3.30am
Malka opened her eyes to darkness. The fire in the master bedroom had long faded, giving a chill to the air. She felt unusual, as if displaced out of time due to taking herself to bed late morning, leaving Alfie in the overgrown grass of the back garden. Now, not knowing what time it was or even which day, she felt unsettled from having troubled sleep filled with nightmares and worries for the future of those she held dear.
"Alfie?" she said, outstretching her arm, but his side of the bed was cold and undisturbed. Whatever hour it was, he was yet to come to bed, or perhaps had decided to sleep elsewhere.
Turning, she felt around her nightstand until locating the brass alarm clock. Pulling it to her face and allowing her eyes to adjust to the radium hands, she noted the early hour.
She considered rolling over and ignoring that he wasn't beside her, but thought better of it, after all, things could still be worse. He could be drunk somewhere, getting into fights, or requiring medical attention. Or perhaps roaming the streets looking for dogs to give his bone too. Either way, him running up fines, being arrested or contracting the clap, was not useful to their already complicated situation.
None of these thoughts, however, were enough to motivate Malka to leaving the bed. It wasn't until her heart weighed in, reasoning that he was the father of her son, which meant his whereabouts was important, did she concede. Defeated and with a huff, she threw off the covers and begun a search for her husband.
-●=»>◆<«=●-
Home / 150 Camden Street / 3.33am
It annoyed Alfie how loud his pocket watch ticked. When everything was quiet and the world was sleeping, he knew that everyone could still hear his watch ticking. Unable to ignore it, he opened the gold cover and stared at the tiny black hands intently. Hearing a creak from above he realised that another was awake in the world with him. His eyes flicked up to the staircase opposite waiting to see her.
At first, he saw her slender feet with no slippers, then the white lace that ran along the bottom of her long silk nightdress with no robe, followed by soft black hair. He looked away before making eye contact. He was in the receiving area of their home, which was almost void of belongings by this point. The grandfather clock was gone, the chaise longues, glass cabinet, and the photographs which had hung on the walls for years, had all been pack away leaving behind only dust and discolouration of where items had once been. This was now the temporary location for Alfie's captain's desk and chair. He sat facing the stairs, perfectly centred with the roaring fireplace behind him.
"What's it telling you Alfie?" she asked reaching the ground floor.
Malka had referred to his watch, because for Alfie his watch told him more than just the time. He wanted to share what it said about her wisdom and love, but remained quiet. Instead, he removed the watch from his waist and placed it, still open, upon the empty desk. He then rested his interlocked fingers on the green leather top and stared at them. She knew his thoughts would focus on her strengths rather than his own and maybe it was an old habit or perhaps she did care, either way she decided to share her own thoughts about the time his watch displayed.
"Or...." she said, picking up a nearby dining chair and placing it opposite him and speaking as though he had answered her question and hadn't ignored it, "it could mean to trust your inner voice and let it guide you in the right direction." she suggested, sitting down across from him.
YOU ARE READING
The Camden Tales
FanfictionAlfie Solomons, the crime boss of Camden Town and King of the Jews: estranged from his wife, his empire crumbling and ravaged by war, he makes a deal with the devil, and nothing is the same again. Covering his years of involvement with the Birmingha...